The Wandering Eye

Did Dudley do it or didn’t he? And if he did, how much was it?
The issue is whether Chris Dudley tried to avoid paying Oregon income taxes when he was a center for the Portland Trail Blazers. Former Democratic Gov.

Oregon workers don’t have much to celebrate this Labor Day weekend, according to a report  issued today by the Oregon Center for Public Policy.
“Not surprisingly, for most Oregon workers the state of affairs is a tough one,” the report says.

They’ve taken away an on-street parking space in downtown Bend to put in a rack for 12 bicycles. The politically correct response would be to jump up and down and cheer, but pardon me if I don’t join in.

I never miss one of Lars Larson’s little commentaries on the Oregon Catalyst site. They’re some of the best free entertainment on the Web.

Would the state of Oregon be better off if it was its own banker? Ann Kramer thinks so.
Kramer, chair of the board of the Gorge Grown Food network, an organization trying to promote a regional food system in the Columbia Gorge, writes on the Blue Oregon site that having a state bank could help “recharge Oregon’s economy.

As if he didn’t have enough headaches being behind Chris Dudley in the polls and in the race for campaign cash, John Kitzhaber has gotten involved in a scandal.
On second thought, better put quotes around “scandal.

Democrats have launched a new website, You Don’t Know Dudley.com, attacking GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Dudley.

The fight over Deschutes County's new destination resort rules isn't finished yet: Central Oregon LandWatch has put the county on notice that it plans to challenge them.
LandWatch filed ìnotices of intent to appealî Thursday with the state Land Use Board of Appeals, charging that the county's new rules for determining what lands are eligible for resorts ìactually increase the development potential in the county.

Kevin Mannix, who lost as a candidate for governor, state attorney general and congressman, has had a more successful career pushing get-tough-on-crime measures. But he’s finding it tough to get traction with this year’s entry – even among some of his fellow Republicans.

Here’s another bit of evidence that Oregon’s tax climate isn’t as toxic to business as conservatives make it out to be: Bend’s G5 Search Marketing announced this week that it’s getting a $15 million infusion of venture capital and plans to more than double its workforce.
The five-year-old company, which designs software to help businesses make their websites more effective in snagging visitors and customers, plans to add 20 employees by the end of the year and as many as 100 more within two years, according to co-founder and CEO Dan Hobin.